Receding door



Patented Dec. 31, 1935 U ITED STATES ATENT Friet:

l 14 claims.

a device having receding doors which are guided in their movements to open and closed positions.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a device having pairs of receding doors which may be actuated simultaneously.

This invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings forming a part of this application,

Figure l is a sectional plan View of a wardrobe provided with receding doors and embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation showing the receding doors in open position.

Figure 3 is a top plan view with parts broken away, and showing pairs of receding doors arranged for simultaneous operation.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the arrangement of Figure 3, showing the pairs of doors in the open position.

Figures 5 and 6 are detail elevational views showing a hinge and guiding means for my receding doors.

Referring now to the drawing for a detailed description of the receding doors of my inven- 1 tion, I show a pair of such doors forming a part of a wardrobe, but it should be understood that the receding doors of my invention are not limited to use with wardrobes, but are suitable for other uses, such as with cabinets in general.

In Figure 1 of the drawing I show a pair of my receding doors IU, as forming a closure for the wardrobe II of which they form a part. The adjacent edges of these doors are operatively connected together by hinges I2 at the top and bottom of the doors. When the door-s are in the closed position, as illustrated in full-lines in Fig. 1, they are both in the same plane, with their outer edges abutting against door jambs I3 ofthe wardrobe II. When moved to the open position the doors recedev into the wardrobe and assume the folded position shown inV dotted linesV in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

For supporting the doors I prefer to use arms I4, which have one end pivotally attached to the doors at or near their vertical center line by V means of clips I5, and the other end pivotally mounted in supporting brackets I6. A pair of these pivotally mounted arms Ili is provided for each door, one being pivotally attached to the door near its top edge and mounted in a sup- 5 porting bracket I6 secured to the ceiling of the room or to the top of the wardrobe, and the other of the arms being pivotally attached to the door near its bottom edge and mounted in a supporting bracket I6, which is secured to the floor of the room or to the bottom of the wardrobe.

For guiding the doors during their movements to the Yopen and closed positions, I provide a track I1 which is secured to the floor of the room or to the bottom of the wardrobe and extends into the wardrobe at its center, and approximately at right angles te the closed position of the doors. The lower hinge of the receding doors carries a bracket I8, which is welded or otherwise secured to the lower end of the hinge pin I9, with a spacer 2B between the bracket and the portion of the hinge through` which the pin passes, as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing. The bracket i8 is provided with a grooved roller 2|, which follows the raised portion of the track II during the movements of the doors. As the doors are thus guided, by the track I'I and the roller 2l, during their opening and closing movements, the supporting arms I4 swing through approximately to the dotted line positions shown in Fig. 1.

While I have shown one track member I'I secured to the floor for guiding the doors during their opening and closing movements, it is obvious that a similar track and track follower could be provided .at the upper end of the doors if deemed necessary.

In Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing I have shown an arrangement by which pairs of receding wardrobe doors may be actuated simultaneously. In this arrangement a wardrobe 25 is provided with door jambs 26, at opposite sides of the front opening, and this opening is closed by two or more pairs of receding doors 21 arranged so that the adjoining edgesV of doors of adjacent pairs will abut against each other, as indicated at 28. In this arrangement the doors are supported in a manner similar to that already described, that is, eachV door is provided with a pivoted supporting arm at its top and one at the bottom, and the doors of Veach pair are hinged together at the top and bottom, and similarly, each pair of doors is provided with a track extending intoA the wardrobe, and a track follower for guiding the doors during their opening and closing movements.

For connecting adjacent pairs of doors for simultaneous operation, I provide levers 29 and 29', which are keyed or otherwise-secured upon vertical extensions 30 and 30', respectively, of the upper supporting arms.

A pair of crossed links 3l have their ends pivotally connected to the levers 29 and 29', so that movement of one of the levers in one direction will be transmitted to the other lever to cause rotation of the latter in the opposite direction. Thus it will be seen that when one pair of doors is moved to open or closed position its pivoted supporting arms are swung through approximately 90, thus rotating the extension and the lever carried thereby through an equal angular distance. This rn'otion is transmitted through the links 3l and causes the lever and pivoted supporting arm of the adjacent pair of doors to swing through an angular distance of approximately 90, which moves the second pair of doors to the open or closed position simultaneously with the rst pair of doors.

In order to keep the top surface of the wardrobe flush, so that it may be tted against the ceiling of a room, I prefer to provide a depression 32 in the top of the wardrobe, which will receive the levers 29 and 29', and. the crossed links 3l.

It will now be readily .apparent that the receding doors of my invention, supported upon the pivoted arms, and guided by the track and track follower will move easily and smoothly to open and closed positions, and that during such movement the hinged edges of the doors will move in a straight line, which is approximately at right angles to the closed position of the doors. With this arrangement of pivoted supporting arms and guiding means, which I have provided, the doors do not extend far out into the room as they move to open and closed positions, and hence do not require the large clear room space heretofore required by swinging doors. When in closed position the doors present a neat and smooth appearance, and when moved to the open position the doors assume a folded position within the wardrobe, occupying but a small amount of space.

It should be understood Vthat I do not limit my invention to the precise details and arrangements shown and described, but regard my invention as including such changes and modifications as do not involve a departure from the spirit of my invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a wardrobe, the combination of a pair of doors hinged together and adapted to be moved to open and closed positions, a second pair of doors hinged together and adapted to be moved to open and closed positions, means operatively connecting said pairs of doors whereby one of said pairs is actuated by motion transmitted from the other of said pairs, and guide means extending into the wardrobe at Vsubstantially right angles to the closed position of the doors for guiding the m'ovement thereof. Y

2. In a wardrobe, the combination of a pair of doors having their adjoining edges hinged toopening and closing movements of said doors,

the means for guiding the hinged edges of said pairs of doors including spaced guides extending into the wardrobe in substantially parallel relation, and means connecting said pairs of doors whereby said pairs may be actuated simulta- 5 neously.

3. In a wardrobe, the combination of a pair of doors having their adjoining edges hinged together, supporting arms pivoted to a support and to said doors, means for guiding said hinged edges during the opening and closing movements of said doors, a second pair of doors having their Y adjoining edges hinged together, supporting arms pivoted to a support and to said second pair of doors, means for guiding the hinged edges of said second Vpair of doors during their opening and closing movements, and m'eans operatively connecting said supporting arms whereby said pairs of doors may be actuated simultaneously.

4. In a wardrobe, the combination of pairs of doors having hinged `adjoining edges adapted to recede into the wardrobe when the doors are moved to the open position and having the adjoining edges of doors of adjacent pairs in abutting relation when the doors are inthe closed position, means including substantially parallel `guide members extending into said wardrobe for guiding said hinged edges during the movements of said doors, and means for operatively connecting said pairs of doors whereby they may be actuated simultaneously.

5. Inra wardrobe, the combination of a pair of doors having their adjoining edges hinged together for recessional movement into the wardrobe, a guide extending into the wardrobe, means cooperating with said guide for guiding the hinged edges of said doors, and means supporting each of said doors for swinging movement about a xed pivot point within the wardrobe while said hinged edges follow said guide.

6. In a wardrobe, the combination of a pair of doors having their adjoining edges hinged together for recessional movement into the Wardrobe, a guide extending into the wardrobe at substantially right angles to the closed position of the doors, means cooperating with said guide and associated with said hinged edges for guiding the latter during the movements of the doors, and means supporting each of said doors Vfor swinging movement about a iixed pivot point located in the wardrobe a substantial distance inwardly of the closed position of the doors.

7. In a closure device for a wardrobe, the combination of a pair of doors having their adjoining edges hinged together for recessional movement into the wardrobe, a guide extending into the wardrobe, means cooperating with said guide for guiding the hinged edges of the doors, and means including a movable arm for supporting each of said doors for swinging movement about a fixed pivot point within the wardrobe while said hinged edgesrfollow said guide, said arms having one end thereof pivoted at said i'ixed point and having pivotal connection with said doors at their opposite end.

8..In4 a closure device for a wardrobe, the combination of a pair of doors having their adjoining edges hinged together for recessional movement into the Wardrobe, a guideV extending into the wardrobe, means Vcooperating with said guide for guiding the hinged edges of the doors, and means including a movable arm for supporting each of said doors for swinging movement about a xed pivot point within the wardrobe whileV said hinged edges follow said guide, said arms having one end thereof pivoted at said xed point and having pivotal connection with said doors at their opposite end at a point approximately mid-way between the side edges of the doors.

9. The combination of a plurality of doors hingedly connected together in paired relation, a mounting for each pair for swinging the same into position substantially perpendicular to initial positioning and parallel to each other, a member associated with each pair of doors and having movement in a path parallel to the movement of other members, and means connecting said members for simultaneous operation thereof whereby movement of any door secures simultaneous movement of all connected doors.

10. In a closure device for a wardrobe, the combination of a pair of doors having their adjoining edges hinged together for recessional movement into the wardrobe, a guide extending into the wardrobe, means cooperating with said guide for guiding the hinged edges of the doors, and means including a movable arm for supporting each of said doors for swinging movement about a fixed pivot point within the wardrobe while said hinged edges follow said guide, said arms each having one end pivoted at said fixed point and the opposite end having a pivotal connection with said door at a point an appreciable distance from each side edge of the door.

11. In a wardrobe, the combination of a pair of adjacent and swinging doors hingedly connected together at their adjacent edges, their remote edges being free, an arm for each door pivotally supported at one end rearwardly of the door opening and pivotally connected at its opposite end to said door intermediate of and at an appreciable distance from each edge of said door, said doors having their hinged edges movable rearwardly into the opening and only transversely of the plane of the door opening, said doors being movable into substantial parallelism therein when fully opened, said arms being movable simultaneously and oppositely in said door movement.

12. In a wardrobe, the combination of a plurality of pairs of adjacent and swinging doors, each pair of doors being hingedly connected together at their adjacent edges, the remote edges of said hingedly connected pair of doors being free, an arm for each door of each pair and pivotally supported at one end rearwardly of the door opening and pivotally connected at its opposite end to the adjacent door and intermediate of and at an appreciable distance from each edge of said door, the hinged edges of each pair of doors being movable rearwardly into the wardrobe for door opening and only transversely of the plane of the door opening, each pair of doors being movable into substantial parallelism when fully opened, the arms of each hinged pair of doors being movable simultaneously and oppositely in said door movement, and means operatively connecting at least one of the arms of each pair of doors for simultaneous movement of all of said doors. y

13. In a wardrobe, the combination of a pair of adjacent and swinging doors hingedly connected together at their adjacent edges, their remote edges being free, an armpivotally supported at one end rearwardly of the door opening and pivotally connected at its opposite end to the door intermediate of and at an appreciable distance from each edge of said door, a rearwardly drected track, and means operatively associated with said doors and in substantial alignment with the hinge connection and movable on the track, said doors having their hinged edges movable rearwardly into the wardrobe for door opening and only transversely of the plane of the door opening, said doors being movable into substantial parallelism therein when fully opened.

14. In a wardrobe, the combination of 'a plurality of pairs of adjacent and swinging doors, the doors of each pair being hingedly connected together at adjacent edges, the remote edges of each pair of doors being free, an arm for each pair of doors pivotally supported at one end rear- I wardly of the door opening and pivotally connected at its opposite end to the door of said pair and intermediate of and at an appreciable distance from each edge of the door of said pair, a rearwardly directed track for each pair of doors, and means operatively associated with each pair of doors and in substantial alignment with the hinge connection thereof and movable on the track, each pair of doors having their hinged edges movable rearwardly into the wardrobe for door opening and only transversely of the plane of the door opening, each pair of hingedly connected doors being movable into substantial parallelism therein when fully opened, and means operatively connecting said arms for simultaneous movement of all of said doors.

GILBERT W. ISLEY. 

